Rodrigo Villalobos De La Parra

Ph.D. Student

rodrigo.villalobos@kaust.edu.sa

Research Interest

Rodrigo’s research focuses on community ecology of coral reefs, in particular on cryptic invertebrates. He is using the environmental latitudinal gradients in the Red Sea to test different hypotheses on how reef communities are affected by them. As temperatures become warmer knowing which of the myriad of factors is affecting the reef system in the Red Sea will be crucial. With the use of the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) as a standard sampling tool he expects to help the scientific community get a clearer view on where reef communities are heading in the current fast changing environment.

He has been part of the Reef Ecology Lab since 2014. Rodrigo was born and raised in Mexico city and he is a passionate freediver and food lover.​